[Vwdiesel] RE: T or H tires

Wed Jun 1 11:25:56 EDT 2005

I just went from the Michelin XGT (205/50HR15) to their new HydroEdge
(195/60TR15) and saw an order-of-magnitude improvement in the rain!  I got
about 80K km from the XGTs.

There is a hiway in Nanaimo that is badly rutted (overloaded logging
trucks).  When I hit a pool of water with the XGTs (around 100k/h) , the car
was pulled over half a lane.  The HE's cut thru it without even tugging the
steering wheel.

A neighbour has a newer Altima with the same tires, and he was even able to
get thru Nanaimo's "big snow storm" of the winter (about 20cm).  I was
stranded for 4 days with the XGTs.

Haven't found much of a difference in the overall handling - I rarely corner
at a rate high enuff to squeel the tires.  The XGTs were more responsive,
the HEs are more comfortable, but I attribute that to the difference in the
aspect ratio as much as anything.  The /50 was a bit too stiff for my
liking.

Again, expensive, but with Michelins I find that you get what you pay for.
BTW, I found the HydroEdge cost about the same as the XGTs (around $650Cdn
for the set).

rgds, g.
:o)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "greg rich" <greg4vwparts at hotmail.com>
To: <vwdiesel at vwfans.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 01, 2005 06:35
Subject: [Vwdiesel] RE: T or H tires

> Well, here is my story/opinion
> I have two 2000 Jetta tdi's in the family, one is my wife's, one my Mom's.
> One car had Michelin's that are H rated-Energy series (factory). They
> suck-good overall but terrible performance (car feels like it will roll on
> the sidewalls/tire off rim plus lots of squealing) and they wear out
quickly
> (even slow/non aggressive driving). Maybe 40k miles if your very lucky.
The
> other car had them but I installed Goodyear Eagle LS right away (new car
> take-offs, used the other wheels for winters). Great performing tire, but
> the tread got feather edged and noisy very fast, they lasted at least 60k
> miles. I now have one car on the factory Michelin Energy series (which
were
> stored for a couple years) and the other car has a set of Michelin Pilot
> XGTH4. There is no comparsion, the Pilot are so much better, even with
> bigger injectors (automatic running 205s) I can floor the car off the line
> with little wheel spin IN THE RAIN! You can  corner much faster with
> confidence and no squealing plus great feel-these tires totally changed
the
> dynamics of the car-nothing else changed (alignment/suspension all stock).
I
> would highly recommend these tires and cannot wait to get a set on every
car
> here. Yes, the cost alot (twice what a S ot T rated tire would cost) but
the
> security in the rain plus the stability is unbelievable, even compared
with
> the factory H rated tires. The really reveal what the car can do, it feels
> much more like the mk2 cars now, amazing what a good tire can do. So far
> they seem to wear okay, only had them one summer. All these tires are
> 195/65/15 stock size.
> Greg
>
> >Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] T or H tires
> >To: val at swamps.roc.ny.us, vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> >Message-ID: <1c8.29c7a79d.2fcbd074 at aol.com>
> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> >
> >I'm pretty sure you'd be OK with T rated.
> >H are probably a little rounder and internally more uniform.
> >Maybe stay balanced a little better, too.
> >If you do a lot of highway driving, even below speeds indicated for H
> >rated,
> >you're better off with them, IMO. Better ride and less vibration to wear
> >your
> >suspension.
> >
> >Bob
> >
> >***********
> >
> >
> >In a message dated 5/27/2005 6:27:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> >val at swamps.roc.ny.us writes:
> >
> > > Subj: [Vwdiesel] T or H tires
> > >  Date: 5/27/2005 6:27:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time
> > >  From: val at swamps.roc.ny.us
> > >  To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > >  Sent from the Internet
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On an 2003 TDI, the charts at Sam's, for tires, say H rated tires.
> > > I have T rated tires.  Can anyone comment further?  Is there that
> > > much difference for someone driving in the snowbelt (cooler climate),
> > > who seldom hits 85 mph?  Most driving is in the 45 to 75 range.
> > >
> > > Val
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Vwdiesel mailing list
> > > Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >------------------------------
> >
> >Message: 4
> >Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 22:58:11 -0400 (EDT)
> >From: Val Christian <val at swamps.roc.ny.us>
> >Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] T or H tires
> >To: SLATERSFB at aol.com, vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> >Message-ID: <200505300258.WAA10142 at swamps.roc.ny.us>
> >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> >
> >Here's my history:
> >
> >2003 Jetta TDI, driven year round, nominal commute 45 to 85 MPH,
sometimes
> >hard acceleration and braking, but usually driven as if a 48 hp 1.5L IDI.
> >
> >When car was new, very unstable front end.  Dealer indicated within spec.
> >Found to be borderline unsafe in icy conditions.  I had them realign
> >front end for zero toe.  Better performance, but not as good as 91 Jetta,
> >and clearly not as good as a snoot full of Rabbits.
> >
> >Factory  tires wore out in 30kmiles.  Replaced with "T" tires.  After
> >20kmiles, uneven wear across treads, minor imbalance.  Dealer (Sam's)
> >saw them and offered to replace under warranty (I didn't ask).  After
> >considering options, I took them up on it.  Their literature says "H"
> >tire needed, but dealer says "T" is just fine.  I'll try these new "T"s
> >and see how they perform (life-wise).
> >
> >I'm interested in any group experience.
> >
> >On the old Rabbits, I just ran Michelon (sp?) XZX tires, and got 45
kmiles
> >more
> >more per set.  Zero toe, to 1/8 toe out, and zero camber.
> >
> >Val
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > I'm pretty sure you'd be OK with T rated.
> > > H are probably a little rounder and internally more uniform.
> > > Maybe stay balanced a little better, too.
> > > If you do a lot of highway driving, even below speeds indicated for H
> >rated,
> > > you're better off with them, IMO. Better ride and less vibration to
wear
> >your
> > > suspension.
> > >
> > > Bob
> > >
> > > ***********
> > >
> > >
> > > In a message dated 5/27/2005 6:27:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> > > val at swamps.roc.ny.us writes:
> > >
> > > > Subj: [Vwdiesel] T or H tires
> > > >  Date: 5/27/2005 6:27:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time
> > > >  From: val at swamps.roc.ny.us
> > > >  To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > > >  Sent from the Internet
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On an 2003 TDI, the charts at Sam's, for tires, say H rated tires.
> > > > I have T rated tires.  Can anyone comment further?  Is there that
> > > > much difference for someone driving in the snowbelt (cooler
climate),
> > > > who seldom hits 85 mph?  Most driving is in the 45 to 75 range.
> > > >
> > > > Val
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Vwdiesel mailing list
> > > > Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > > > http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/vwdiesel
> > > >
> > >
> > >
>
>
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> Vwdiesel at vwfans.com
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